The man, believed to be in his 20s, and two friends were surfing in waist-high water in the 900 block of Atlantic Avenue when the victim went under water, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman. His friends pulled him from the water around 6:20 p.m., Bernstein said.

On shore, a registered nurse and another person attempted to resuscitate the man while they waited for emergency crews, Bernstein said. He was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.